Watford appoint former Hull boss Marco Silva as new manager

Watford have appointed former Hull boss Marco Silva as their new manager on a two-year contract.

Silva is the ninth Watford boss in five years and the eighth since the Italian Pozzo family took over in 2012.

The 39-year-old Portuguese replaced Mike Phelan at Hull in January but was unable to prevent relegation to the Championship and resigned on Thursday.

Chairman Scott Duxbury said Silva is “one of the most sought after head coaches in the Premier League”.

He added: “His pedigree and promise speaks for itself with his achievements in top divisions elsewhere across Europe, as well as his work at Hull City last season.”

Silva succeeds Walter Mazzarri at Vicarage Road, with the Italian dismissed before the final league match of a season in which the Hornets finished 17th.

Silva previously managed at Estoril, Sporting Lisbon and Olympiakos and during his Hull reign he extended a combined unbeaten home record with all four clubs to 41 matches, which was ended by a 2-0 defeat against relegated Sunderland.

Hull were relegated in the penultimate week of the season and Silva said at the time: “It’s my goal as a manager to work in the Premier League.”

The Tigers won only once away from home and lost their final three matches, suffering a 7-1 thrashing by second-placed Tottenham on the final day.